“You’ve heard the saying “money can’t buy happiness” but i actually beg to differ. I think the problem is that it can only buy happiness. What people usually mean when they say happiness is Joy. At first I thought this should be common knowledge but the more I hear people’s takes on the topic of depression the more I’m convinced most people conflate happiness with joy.
JOY is a state of being. Joy is more than just excitement much like peace is more than just the absence of conflict. I think you’ll find that most of the facets listed to describe the fruit of GOD are similar in the sense that they all all states of being. Like the others, Joy is something that YAHWEH has essentially ensured we can all ONLY get in Him. Humans were never designed to fully function without God. Period. Sin has all but ensured that you must exist in that unnatural, diminished state but you also must understand that this was never the design or the original plan. It’s really that simple so there’s no need to sugarcoat it. Joy is not mere excitement but it also transcends bliss. It is impossible to consistently possess and maintain without stress any of the states described by the virtues and characteristics embedded in the single fruit of THE HOLY SPIRIT. If you must be mad at anyone, choose the one who scammed your greatest grandmother out of your peace and safety. Why some choose to serve him instead I will never understand.
That sentence about your original design might sound rude, outlandish, false or even offensive but it’s also true. Unfortunately it’s not something I can help you understand. You’re going to have to go to HIM for that. Problem is although He’s definitively absolutely everywhere He’s also fiercely private so you’re simply going to have to seek, knock and ask steadily, draw near to Him etc etc all on your own. Could talk in circles but the main point is that GOD likes people who like Him and are not afraid to show Him and others that they do. Basically you’re going to have to work for it and keep at it. Soooo lemme know what you find about Him should you choose to accept this challenge. You know, seeing as i’m always interested in the topic of HIM? ☺️ Unashamedly so too, GOD is my absolute favorite. Not even kidding, can’t think of a person I prefer. Period.
Eventually I think most people usually f-around and find out in the end (when it’s already too late) that absolutely NOBODY can play in God’s face and win. It simply does not exist no matter where you go on the surface of the earth, the Heavens above or even Tartarus. I promise you, precisely zero persons have ever gotten away with trying to outwit GOD. For those who are confused, Yes, I’m absolutely saying that ‘playing’ with GOD is a literal impossibility, understood? It is complete folly and often suicidal to believe otherwise. Gratefully so.
As to how this relates to our subject? Here’s how…read this and never forget it. Happiness is an emotion. That automatically means that Happiness is like a high, it fades by design. You will always need to top up and that means being caught in an endless loop of chasing the next hit until you die. That’s it, that all, that will ALWAYS be it and all it has to offer anyone. Emotions don’t last also by design. They fade until sometimes what felt so real you no longer even remember how or why it was or even came in the first place but in the moment it happened it feels like the absolute most important priority and like the most urgent need in the world to tackle. Men them emotions be scamming niggas on a daily.
If you f around and choose to consistently flaunt God’s laws as a way of life, then guess what you just signed up for…a life of misery. Period. Even if you look “fine” on the surface, I guarantee that you’re low key suffering and covering it all up with smiles and giggles to scam everyone except God cus guess something else, He and He alone can never be mocked or deceived. You might deceive every person around you to a point where even you believe your lies but usually you and God will understand that you are and how you are suffering as a direct consequence of your sin.
So if you choose to live your life pursuing happiness, do yourself this favor and frame a picture of a hamster on a wheel and hang it somewhere conspicuous in your house because that’s an accurate portrait of the state of your soul. You don’t need a therapist to tell you that It’s exhausting and unfulfilling as heck to be you, It’s empty and demeaning to live like you and it’s stressful and nerve-racking. If you ever keep it a buck or dare to make real posts on IG instead of projecting your highlight reels to the world you’ll know this true BUT every now and then, you’ll get a hit of happy and for a hot second it will actually feel good but then here comes the wheels again you have to keep chasing it otherwise you’ll be stuck on red and we can’t have that, so off you go. Onto the Next person, next event, next bag, next like, next lay, next, next, next, next on an endless cycle like a slave for life.
On the exact flip side of that picture is Joy. It doesn’t need to be loud or even obvious, it just is. Here’s how God made sure not one of us can be trifling and get away unscathed. It’s most evident in the very strategic proverbial stones The Holy Spirit has decided to be the sole custodian of in our human experience. Eliminate these things and well and no wonder people are depressed and empty and life without GOD freaking sucks. It’s not an accident, it’s a feature of the design.
Are you ready for a list of absolute essentials everyone needs in order to have even a semblance of a good life on earth which ONLY The Holy Spirit can give? As in along with joy He exclusively has the rights to all these things. Here
Apart from the fact that although the list may sound abstract or unimportant, and that any life without those things is absolute misery, here’s the ultimate kicker…. you ONLY get The Holy Spirit if you have JESUS. Haaaha! Geeeeenius!!.
There is a key ingredient that Joy that happiness could never. STABILITY!! Joy is constant, why? because God The Holy Spirit is constant. Joy is stable it doesn’t deplete or expire of fade in fact it exists untethered to the circumstances and environment that surrounds it, like a temperature controlled bubble. Sorry guys don’t know what to tell ya except God IS wisdom. HE knows what you need to survive earth in this shitty state and has kept all the good stuff in HIMSELF. Also, He can’t be bought because He technically owns you and your impressive net worth so there’s that.
It’s a sobering realization that Joy will never be for sale anywhere. It simply cannot be bought as It is a consequence of proximity to The Holy Spirit. It’s not a class issue, it’s a heart issue. Who knew The Holy Spirit accessible only through Christ would be the true equalizer of men. In Christ there is no Jew or gentile, no male or female. Doesn’t matter who you are, you will never be joyful without The HOLY SPIRIT. You may settle for constant hits of happiness but realistically that’s the total height of your expectations from life. No matter how much you make, how you look, where you live and at what standard? NO HOLY SPIRIT? NO FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Kay? K.
Now, before you yell f-that! and walk off in protest thereby resolving yourself to an existence of chasing the brief, few and increasingly farther between highs of happiness forever, you should at least consider the rest that’s possible when you live life at the joy level instead of ratcheting it out with the rest of the world’s masses in the arena of happy people. It’s not a trouble free existence that The LORD promises, it’s a joyful one. Steady in rest in the midst of storms. No one is without troubles in this current life but if given the option should you rather suffer joyfully leaning on God’s power or miserably in your own strength? The fact that each person dies alone is proof that in the end, those are our options. Nothing made this point clearer to me than reading my parents and brother’s autopsy reports. Yes they all died together but they each died individual deaths. Hope you don’t wait to learn in the last seconds of your life that nobody’s tagged along on your ride. My advice? take your life as a private project primarily between God and you.
Memorize and never forget that it’s ONLY through Jesus (Yeshua) that you or anyone of us can receive ➡️ The Holy Spirit and The Holy Spirit ➡️ will teach you about YAHWEH. Peace and Joy are IN THE HOLY SPIRIT. These states of being are only possible when you live in Him. That’s it, there is no other way. You can go search high and low, far and wide, you will find that it has been ordered by GOD to be so and therefore there is no other source. You can never find another source of love, joy, peace and the other parts of His fruit outside of Him. You may find counterfeit versions or almost feelings that fade and vanish, might even catch a break and stumble on some knockoff “vibes” that mimic His fruit and may be tempted to settle there. I encourage you to press in and receive the real deal that comes without stress because of GOD’s power backing you. Absolutely No version of life beats living in The Holy Spirit.
It’s true that a person can completely forget about knowing themselves without first knowing their Creator but what an honor it is that it’s even possible to get onboard this process of learning to know GOD. Just Amazing.
I guess the wrap up is that if all you have is money in this world, then smilingly etherial yet oddly tangible things like Joy, Peace and such will probably always be beyond your reach. 🤷🏽♀️ You find Jesus however? Well, the equation drastically changes.”
Happy digging!
